Ronnie Belliard (L) and Wil Nieves congratulate each other postgame. Both hithomers to help some fantastic pitching in a 2-0 Nats win. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) Nationals 2, Reds 0: Ronnie Belliard is hardly known as a guy with a ton of power — after all, he’s never hit more than 17 longballs in a season, and he’s a player from whom ten homers in a season would be a solid return. But his blast…

It looked pretty good there for a while. After dumping the dead weight that was Felipe Lopez, Paul Lo Duca, and Johnny Estrada, the re-invigorated Nationals promptly went 6-1, and were fun to watch. Unfortunately, the schedule then put the AAAA Nationals against good Major League baseball teams. This led to their current seven game losing streak, and continued position at the bottom of the Major League. The Nationals remain steadfast in their refusal to…

UPDATE (4:10pm): Nuthin! Per Barry Svrluga, the Nats passed the trade deadline without making a move, despite a flurry of late rumors. While they might make minor moves in August (like last year with Livan), they decided against moving Rauch or Cordero. Let’s hope Chief’s feelings aren’t hurt and he strikes out Dunn for the save tonight! UPDATE (2:35pm): The Red Sox, rumored to have sought after Cordero since last winter, have reportedly filled their…

Put the champagne on ice, kids. The Nats, at 4-9, are threatening to climb out of last place for the first time since last June, ahead of struggling Philadelphia. Both teams are 4.5 games back, but the Nats have one more win thus far. Try washing down your $90 million payroll with that, Phils fans! After a dreadful first turn through the rotation, the Nats starters have rebounded with some impressive performances as of late….